[House Report 106-598]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



106th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     106-598

======================================================================



 
                AK-CHIN WATER USE AMENDMENTS ACT OF 1999

                                _______
                                

  May 2, 2000.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2647]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 2647) to amend the Act entitled ``An Act relating to the 
water rights of the Ak-Chin Indian Community'' to clarify 
certain provisions concerning the leasing of such water rights, 
and for other purposes, having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill 
do pass.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 2647 is to amend the Act entitled ``An 
Act relating to the water rights of the Ak-Chin Indian 
Community'' to clarify certain provisions concerning the 
leasing of such water rights, and for other purposes.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    The Ak-Chin Reservation in the State of Arizona consists of 
approximately 22,000 acres, and was established by Executive 
Order in 1912 for the Pima and Papago Indians.
    Congress passed the Ak-Chin water rights settlement in 
1978. However, due to the costs of the initial settlement and a 
lack of anticipated water, Congress amended the Ak-Chin water 
settlement in 1984. This amendment provided the tribe a means 
to be compensated for the lack of water in the original 
settlement and a way to fund and construct a permanent water 
supply system. The settlement was again amended in 1992 to 
allow off-reservation leasing of the Indian community's water 
entitlement, but limited the period of lease to 100 years. 
However, the 1992 amendment did not allow for an extension of 
the lease after the 100 year period has ended.
    In reference to this bill, the Arizona Department of Water 
Resources, in a July 28, 1999, correspondence with the Arizona 
Congressional delegation stated:

          Arizona law and the Arizona Assured Water Supply 
        Program require new subdivisions in Active Management 
        Areas (AMAs) to show the continuous physical and legal 
        availability of water supplies that can be used 
        consistent with the management goals of the AMA. One 
        method of establishing such a supply is the execution 
        of a lease of Indian water delivered through the CAP. 
        This is complicated by the fact that Indian water right 
        settlement acts, such as the 1984 Ak-Chin Act, usually 
        limit the term of permissible Indian leases to terms 
        which shall not exceed 100 years. If such a lease is 
        procured in the early stages of development, the term 
        of the lease may have matured as much as five years of 
        more before application is made to the Arizona 
        Department of Water Resources (ADWR) for an Assured 
        Water Supply certificate. Under our statutes and 
        regulations, a lease with a remaining term of less than 
        100 years does not meet the test of continuous legal 
        and physical availability.

    This legislation would provide a legal avenue for the Ak-
Chin tribe to extend or renew its existing lease with an 
Arizona development company that must obtain a State of Arizona 
Assured Water Supply certificate for municipal water use. No 
water has been delivered under the existing arrangement.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 2647 was introduced on July 29, 1999, by Congressman 
John Shadegg (R-AZ). H.R. 2647 was referred to the Committee on 
Resources and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on Water 
and Power. The Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill on 
February 10, 2000. The Subcommittee on Water and Power held a 
markup on the bill on March 9, 2000. No amendments were offered 
and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the full 
Resources Committee by voice vote. On April 5, 2000, the Full 
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. No amendments 
were offered and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the 
House of Representatives by voice vote.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Constitutional authority

    This Section provides the Constitutional authority for this 
Act, which is article I, section 8, authorizing Congress to 
``regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several 
States, and with the Indian tribes''.

Section 2. Technical amendments to Ak-Chin Water Use Act of 1984

    This Section provides the Ak-Chin tribe an extension to 
lease water off-reservation after an initial 100 year lease has 
concluded.

            Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations 
are reflected in the body of this report.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.

                    Compliance With House Rule XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    3. Government Reform Oversight Findings. Under clause 
3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives, the Committee has received no report of 
oversight findings and recommendations from the Committee on 
Government Reform on this bill.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate 
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, April 18, 2000.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources, House of Representatives, Washington, 
        DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2647, the Ak-Chin 
Water Use Amendment Act of 1999.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Lanette 
Keith.
            Sincerely,
                                         Barry B. Anderson,
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

          H.R. 2647--Ak-Chin Water Use Amendments Act of 1999

    H.R. 2647 would allow the Ak-Chin Indian Community in 
Arizona to extend and renew leases of its settlement water for 
off-reservation use. Under current law, such leases may not 
exceed 100 years. In addition, the bill would ratify and 
approve a lease agreement among the Ak-Chin Indian Community, 
the United States, and the Del Webb Corporation.
    Based on information from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, CBO 
expects that H.R. 2647 would have no significant effect on the 
agency's administrative costs. Therefore, we estimate that any 
impact on discretionary spending as a result of this 
legislation would be negligible. CBO estimates that 
implementing H.R. 2647 would have no effect on direct spending 
or receipts, because any income resulting from additional 
leases would be paid directly to the Ak-Chin Community. Hence, 
pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply to the bill.
    H.R. 2647 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact is Lanette Keith. This estimate was 
approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for 
Budget Analysis.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

                SECTION 2 OF THE ACT OF OCTOBER 19, 1984


  AN ACT Relating to the water rights of the Ak-Chin Indian Community

  Sec. 2. (a)  * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  [(j) The Ak-Chin Indian Community (hereafter in this Act 
referred to as the ``Community'') shall have the right to 
devote the permanent water supply provided for by this Act to 
any use, including agricultural, municipal, industrial, 
commercial, mining, recreational or other beneficial use, in 
the areas initially designated as the Pinal, Phoenix and Tucson 
Active Management Areas pursuant to the Arizona Groundwater 
Management Act of 1980, laws 1980, fourth special session, 
chapter 1. The community is authorized to lease or enter into 
an option to lease, extend leases, exchange or temporarily 
dispose of water to which it is entitled for beneficial use in 
the areas initially designated as the Pinal, Phoenix and Tucson 
Active Management Areas pursuant to the Arizona Groundwater 
Management Act of 1980, laws 1980, fourth special session, 
chapter 1: Provided, That the term of any such lease shall not 
exceed 100 years and the Community may not permanently alienate 
any water right. In the event the Community leases, extends 
leases, exchanges or temporarily disposes of water, such action 
shall be pursuant to a contract that has been accepted and 
ratified by a resolution of the Ak-Chin Indian Community 
Council and approved and executed by the Secretary.]
  (j)(1) The Ak-Chin Indian Community (hereafter in this Act 
referred to as the ``Community`') shall have the right to 
devote the permanent water supply provided for by this Act to 
any use, including agricultural, municipal, industrial, 
commercial, mining, recreational, or other beneficial use, in 
the areas initially designated as the Pinal, Phoenix, and 
Tucson Active Management Areas pursuant to the Arizona 
Groundwater Management Act of 1980, laws 1980, fourth special 
session, chapter 1. The Community is authorized to lease or 
enter into options to lease, to renew options to lease, to 
extend the initial terms of leases for the same or a lesser 
term as the initial term of the lease, to renew leases for the 
same or a lesser term as the initial term of the lease, to 
exchange or temporarily dispose of water to which it is 
entitled for the beneficial use in the areas initially 
designated as the Pinal, Phoenix, and Tucson Active Management 
Areas pursuant to the Arizona Groundwater Management Act of 
1980, laws 1980, fourth special session, chapter 1.
  (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the initial term of any 
lease entered into under this subsection shall not exceed 100 
years and the Community may not permanently alienate any water 
right. In the event the Community leases, enters into an option 
to lease, renews an option to lease, extends a lease, renews a 
lease, or exchanges or temporarily disposes of water, such 
action shall only be valid pursuant to a contract that has been 
accepted and ratified by a resolution of the Ak-Chin Indian 
Community Council and approved and executed by the Secretary.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                                  
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